From Sand to Snow
by BellatrixisFred
Summary: "Before she had moved to this mansion of a house Ruby would have said she liked white well enough, but three days of seeing nothing but white had changed her mind. Now she hated it." Ruby Jones didn't transfer to Hogwarts for a new and exciting experience. She didn't even want to go to Hogwarts. But alas, such is life. *Rewritten version of Sand to Snow* *Rated for smut*
1. Family Trouble

**One**

**Family Trouble**

Meet Ruby Jones: post/68872240583/ruby-jones

It was cold, it was raining and, in England, _this _was what they called summer. Ruby glared out her window at the overcast sky and rain drenched fields beyond, the only thing she'd been looking forward to when she was told she had to move to England was returning to summer several months early. The rain seemed to be some sort of personal insult, like the world couldn't even offer her the compensation of warmth. She deserved _some _compensation after having to move to this freezing hell, leaving all her friends and literally _everyone _she'd ever known or cared about. Resolutely Ruby turned her back on the offensive view the window gave her, but the room she was in hardly provided a better one.

It was just so, _white. _The walls were white, the dressing table was white, the bed was white, the bed_covers _were white, the curtains were white and even the flipping _floor _was white. Before she had moved to this mansion of a house Ruby would have said she liked white well enough, but three days of seeing nothing _but _white had changed her mind. Now she hated it.

"Ruby Rose!"

Ruby's frown deepened at the sound of her father calling her. She didn't like the reminder that she lived in her father's house, the house he shared with the bitch that had ended her parent's marriage. Not a good thing had happened since she had arrived in this god forsaken place. First she had arrived in London, which even Ruby had to admit was pretty amazing, but she'd only been able to stare at it out her father's car window as they drove away from it and into the dreary countryside.

"Ruby!" Ruby sighed irritably. In the fourteen days she'd been here she had managed to avoid her father and his "girlfriend", staying closeted in her room and sneaking out at midnight to steal something to eat. Ruby had been hoping to keep this system in place for the next four days, after that she'd be safely away from her father at Hogwarts.

"_What?" _She yelled back, making all her resentment and anger clear in her tone.

Her father was silent for a moment, clearly taken aback by her tone. When they had been a family, back home in Australia, Ruby had always gotten on well with her father. Much better in fact then with her mother. She knew he had expected her to come with him after the divorce, but she had not. Now that she had no other choice did he really expect her to take the change gracefully? Did he really expect she would have forgiven him?

"Ruby come down here now."

"Why?"

Even from this far away Ruby could hear her father sigh. "Please Ruby?"

"No."

Another sigh and footfalls on the stairwell told Ruby her father was coming to her, grumbling to herself Ruby turned back to the window so her back was to the door.

"Ruby?" His voice was closer this time, he had obviously opened her door and come into her room.

"What?"

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"I have nothing to say."

John sighed once again. "So this is how things have to be between us?"

"That was _your _decision father. Not mine."

"Well, whether you like me or not, I'm your parent here in England and I have to look after you."

"Your point?"

"You don't have anything warm enough for a winter here in England, or even a summer by the looks of things." Ruby was dressed in tiny shorts and a t-shirt, her entire wardrobe consisting of not much else. In an attempt to keep warm she had also draped a blanket around her shoulders. He was right, she didn't have anything to wear in England weather.

"And what are you going to do about that?"

"I was going to give you some money, I was hoping you could go shopping with Nad - "

Ruby spun around to glare at her father. "No."

"Ruby, she lives here too -"

"I don't care. I'm not doing _anything _with your girlfriend. I need new clothes and I'll happily take that money but I'm going shopping _alone." _ Facing him, Ruby could see the hurt in her father's eyes, but the resentment she held for him had by now outstripped any empathy she might have otherwise felt. John had destroyed her life, broken her family and then left not only her mother, but _her, _his daughter for some English woman he'd known a few weeks. She had hoped never to see him again and here she was stuck living with him until she was old enough and had enough money to move away.

John opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it again. He was silent a few more moments before speaking. "Alright then, I'll get some money."

"I'll need a lot."

John sighed once more, turning away from her slightly so she could not see his face. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that I've done quite well for myself here in England. There will be plenty of money for you to spend, I'll leave it on the bench tomorrow morning before Nadia and I go to work."

"Good."

"Most people shop at Diagon Alley around here, there's floo powder in the red and gold tin above the mantel in the lounge."

"Cool."

"Is that all I'm to get out of you Ruby? One word answers and cold resentment?"

"I don't expect to like you anymore than I do now."

John sighed once again. "Okay Ruby, I'll talk to you later."

"Don't count on it."

And then the door shut and once more she was alone. Ruby turned back to the window, the awful weather outside suiting her mood exactly. It seemed so long ago now that she and her father had gotten along famously. The days of quiddich in their back garden, midnight trips to the beach, enchanting their pool so that they could fish out of it and surfing from dawn to dusk, the days of doing those things with her father were gone. In fact most of those things Ruby couldn't even do by herself anymore. With a sigh Ruby moved to sit on the bed, now that her father was gone she felt somewhat guilty for the way she was treating him and wished she could talk to Jeannie her best friend, but that option was simply not available to her here. Not unless she wrote a letter and that would take far too long. Ruby reclined on the bed until she was laying down to stare up at the blank, _white _ceiling.

Annoyed and tired Ruby rolled over so that she was face down in her pillow, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. If only she could get through the next four days she would be alright. As daunting as starting at a school where she knew nobody was, _nothing _could be worse than being stuck here in this big, drafty and too merlin damned _white_ house waiting for her father and his girlfriend to leave.

Ruby awoke the next morning, feeling heavy and lethargic from such a long time spent sleeping. The guilt which had awoken inside her after her - fight? It could hardly even be called a "fight", it was more of an exchanging of hostilities. Her father had tried to get Ruby to compromise and once more she had refused to budge. But the guilt it had resulted in had only grown. These "exchanges of hostilities" had been going on for the two weeks Ruby had been here, none of their handful of confrontations were actually "fights" except the first. Ruby had purposefully sent Nadia running from her in tears, for the second time since she had met the woman.

The fight which this caused was only the resuming of the fight which had marked the last time Ruby and her father had spoken. Far into the country as they were Ruby was sure people in London had heard. Since then the three had lived in fear of another confrontation. Nadia anxious after realising Ruby had the power to destroy her relationship with John (or Ruby imagined so anyway). John in fear of further damaging his relationship with his daughter, or infringing damage on that with Nadia. Ruby was in fear of being sent back to her mother, because as bad as things were with her father _nothing _could be worse than going home to her mother.

And _this _is what brought on the guilt. Ruby had never felt guilty after that huge fight before her father left for England, she had felt furiously satisfied. But then again, the wounds of her parent's divorce had been new and Ruby had been less than twelve years old. Now she was sixteen, now she was used to her parent's being apart and now she found herself more than capable of guilt for how she was treating not only her father but the "bitch in heels" (as Ruby liked to think of her) Nadia. Now it gnawed at her every second of the day and she longed for a respite, even one as terrifying as attending the legendary Hogwarts.

Because now she understood how her father could leave her and break up their "happy family" as eleven-year-old Ruby had seen it. _Now _she understood how her father could leave her mother for this foreigner. Julia Rose Jones (for Julia had retained her ex-husband's last name, refusing to accept the divorce had happened) was _not _a nice, good or loving woman. At eleven, and Ruby the youngest most beloved of her children, Ruby had thought she was. She hadn't seen the favoritism she was given, hadn't been privy to any cruelty on her mother's behalf, but now Julia had a _new _boyfriend (which made the keeping of her ex-husband's lastname _really _strange) and her only daughter wasn't so important anymore. Ruby shuddered at the thought of Hugh and the last two years of living with her mother. Her older brother Matt (eight years older to be exact) had told her this behavior was normal, and that she had just been too young to see it. It didn't help that she'd been the favorite either. The very oldest of the three children, Will, had told her that their father had taken most of this abuse that was apparently so common from their mother, he had also _tried _to tell her that Nadia was a very gentle, softly spoken woman and that their father must have found it a joy to simply be around her. Not that Ruby had listened.

But Julia was perfectly lovely to Hugh so what reason was there for Ruby to believe she'd been any different towards John? If Ruby ignored the fact that Will had an uncanny insight into people's behaviors and that Matt was the world's worst liar there was no reason at all. And this was what she told herself, that she'd seen no evidence herself, that was the excuse she made for her behavior. But excuses were wearing thin, and so the guilt. Now she understood what her father had been putting up with and why he would have wanted to leave. But still she treated her father like a combination of Voldemort, Grindevald and Hitler. Ruby put her hands over her face trying not to think. _I am a spoiled brat, a heartless bitch. He left Mum four years ago and I still can't forgive him. _She really couldn't and she _had _tried. After making the decision to go to live with her father for "educational purposes" as she told her mother when really it was to escape Julia's borderline abusive behavior and her alcoholic boyfriend Hugh, Ruby had spent weeks reminding herself of all the bad things that her mother had done. _Trying _to tell herself that her father had only been doing what was best for himself and her mother. But it had only made her angrier and more resentful of him when she thought of all the abuse she had suffered because of her mother. And that's when she had realized, it wasn't about how John had left Julia. It wasn't even about how he'd broken up their "happy little family". Ruby's resentment of her father stemmed from one source and one alone, John had left _her _for the English stranger. He had suffered through Julia's mistreatment long enough for both Will and Matt to grow up and leave home, but only a few months after Matt had left home John had gone too. He had left _her_, not either of the boys, her and _only _her.

Ruby sighed and rolled onto her back to stare up at that empty white ceiling, she almost felt envy for that ceiling in that moment. Blank, empty, uncaring, unthinking. It didn't have to deal with all the emotional crap that was eating her alive. With her thoughts still for a moment Ruby realized the house was silent, John and Nadia had both gone to work. Remembering the day before, Ruby sat up in bed. There would be money for her to shop on the bench, she was sure of it. They might have lost their relationship, but even with the minimal contact they'd had, Ruby and John had still fell into old, remembered, routines. He had said he would do it and her father was very organized, it would be there today.

Ruby got out of bed and glanced at the clock on her bedside table as she did so. It was only nine o'clock, she hadn't yet dragged herself out of bed before one o'clock since coming to live with her father, this was an achievement. Quickly Ruby dressed in the warmest things she could find, a pair of black jeans and an oversized white knit jumper, an impulse buy she had never worn. Still Ruby thanked her lucky stars for that ill-thought out purchase as she dressed, it was supposed to be summer but outside it poured down rain. Pausing only to put on a bit of makeup and run a brush through her long scarlet colored hair Ruby ran downstairs, wallet already in hand.

As she had expected her father had left her a sack of money (yes a _sack of money) _and a small note which reflected the fact that they had "fought" again the night before. It said only two words. _Diagon Alley. _Where Ruby would have usually expected an essay, the shortness left Ruby missing the days when her father was her best friend but, instead of allowing herself to dwell on the fact, took the note in hand and strode over to the central fireplace.

The house Nadia and John lived in was a huge countryhouse that boasted big fireplaces in every room and was decorated entirely with teak wood furnishings and the colour white. Taking the rather ugly red and gold tin off the mantel Ruby briefly noted that it had a red lion on top of it, the image was familiar and Ruby had a feeling her father had other possessions with that same image emblazoned on them but she couldn't think of any from memory. Opening the tin Ruby took a handful and placed it back on the shelf. _"Diagon Alley." _The familiar sensation of being pulled from her naval, the green fire, the whirling dizziness and then that _jerk! _that pulled her out at the appropriate destination. At first Ruby thought she had mispronounced 'Diagon Alley', was there a silent letter? Did she sound too Australian for the magic to work? The badly lit pub she had landed in, bathed in a haze of smoke didn't seem like the sort of place her father would send her on a shopping trip. In a second however Ruby managed to calm down, no one had appeared startled at a young redhead stepping out of the fireplace, and Ruby realized she must be in the right place, or at least some wizarding place. She breathed a sigh of relief, Ruby couldn't imagine how she could possibly explain her appearance satisfactorily to a muggle. Looking around Ruby couldn't see anything that immediately suggested it lead into an alley full of magical shops, however the pub did have a man standing at the bar waiting to serve. A very odd barman with turquoise hair and a lopsided smile, he did however seem popular with the other customers and his voice and demeanor were warm and inviting. Deciding he was a likely candidate to ask for help, Ruby walked over to the bar.

"Hi, would you mind pointing me in the direction of Diagon Alley?" Ruby asked the young barman, with a winning smile. Ruby had noticed that people were at least a _little _more inclined to help someone out when they smiled. Hearing her accent the barman grinned back, his smile infectious.

"Well well well foreigner are we? Judging by your age and it being our year to host the exchange, I'd say your an exchange student. But, where from? That is the question."

"Yes, I am actually, an exchange student that is. And I'm from Australia."

"Well it's very nice to meet you and welcome to England. The name's Teddy, and you are?"

"Ruby Jones."

"Ruby Jones, Australian, future Hogwarts student and no idea how to get into Diagon Alley. From just what I know there I'd say you're here to buy your school things, and by the fact that you're alone I'd judge you probably need a guide or you'll end up in Knockturn Alley. A much less desirable shopping location let me tell you." Being shown where to shop by Nadia had been quite out of the question, but usually Ruby was much less independent. She liked to be with people, she liked to help people and she wasn't opposed to seeking help from people when she needed it. But Teddy _was _a stranger and she should have been wary of him, however, something about Teddy made him very easy to trust.

"Are you offering to show me around?"

"_I _can't show you around I've still got eight hours of my shift left. But I know someone that can. Through that doorway over there is the entrance to Diagon Alley." Teddy said pointing at the back door. "A friend of mine owns a shop in Diagon Alley, a jokeshop actually. It's bright orange, you can't miss it. Anyway their son Freddy is about your age and he's stuck in the shop for the day, no doubt he'll jump on the chance to get out of the shop. Freddy will show you where to buy your school things and give you a running commentary on everyone you see." Pleasantly surprised by the kindness of this perfect stranger Ruby smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks.

"Thank you." She said with real sincerity. "I'll do that."

"If you're on your way out at lunchtime I'll be on break, some company would be a blessing." Teddy said with a wave as Ruby made to go out the door he had indicated.

"I'll be there." Ruby promised, flashing the turquoise haired man another smiled. It was probably the hair she decided. She trusted him because of the hair. Ruby walked out the door Teddy had indicated and came out into a courtyard. That's when she hit trouble. All she could see was a brick wall and some bins. _"Shit." _She hissed, there was some kind of magical protection on the entry to Diagon Alley, something Teddy had forgotten to tell her.

"You tap the third brick from the bin." A voice from behind her said. Ruby turned to see a tall, skinny, redheaded boy smiling at her angelically.

"Oh, thanks." Ruby said turning back to the wall and tapping the brick her had indicated with her wand. Instantly the bricks began to shift to create an archway leading into a cobblestoned alleyway, lined with interesting looking shops and filled with people. Ruby stepped into the street beyond, followed by the angel faced boy.

"You seem a little lost, and foreign." The boy behind her commented.

"I'm a bit of both."

"So you're a _bit_ foreign?."

"Well I mean, I live in England now and my stepmother's English. My Dad's half English too, he went to school here. But I was born and raised in Australia." Ruby commented dazedly, not really paying attention to what she was saying as she stared up at the curious shops. There was such an incredible variety and everything looked so different, so compact and well, cute.

"Interesting." The boy mused. "You remind me of someone actually, someone Australian. Are you by any chance related to John Jones?"

That snapped Ruby out of her dreamy daze and she turned to face

"How on earth could you know that?"

"We're family friends."

"Oh."

"Freddy, technically Fred, Weasley. Sixth year Gryffindor. Pleased to meet you." Freddy introduced himself, holding out a hand for her to shake. Ruby took the hand with a smile, she wasn't going to have to find the bright orange jokeshop after all.

"Ruby, Ruby Jones and I was just looking for you."

Ruby and Freddy, it turned out, had a lot in common. They were both Quiddich players and both loved the Spellbinders, an American pop-rock band, liked to prank their friends and neither of them liked, or understood, cricket. Freddy was a Gryffindor, whereas Ruby had been in Coral house at Sandfields and had yet to be sorted for Hogwarts. Although Ruby had never been told by her father what house he had been in, Freddy apparently knew him to be a Gryffindor and was convinced on that right and general "coolness" she too would be sorted into that house. By now Freddy had helped her buy almost everything except her school books and robes, the first of which they were currently aiming to purchase at Florish and Blotts.

"So how exactly are Hogwarts students sorted? It seems to be much more significant than our houses. All that decided for us was which Quiddich teams you could play on and which class you were in up until we started taking electives. We even had mixed dorms."

"It's much more important than that. Quiddich teams are by house and you have classes with the housemates in your year. But we also share a common room and dorms, and then there's the house points system. House is everything."

"So house spirit is basically _the _most important thing about Hogwarts and that is all decided by a _hat."_

"Well it's not just an ordinary hat!" Freddy protested, but he was laughing as he did.

"In what way is it extraordinary?"

"Well it talks for one thing."

"A _talking hat?" _Ruby asked as the sales assistant brought her the first of her books, her yell causing him to start with fright and Freddy to burst out laughing.

"Yes, a talking hat."

"Well that's much more interesting."

At another point Freddy saw fit to ask about her hair.

"Do you consciously dye your hair ruby red? I mean obviously you're conscious when you dye your hair but I mean do you do it because you're named Ruby?" He asked as he waved at a blonde haired girl a little older than them who, seeing him, put her nose in the air and looked away.

"Actually I'm named Ruby because of my hair." Ruby laughed her hand going unconsciously to her ruby red hair. "It's really only a shade darker than my natural colour. Dad liked the irony."

"John's a pretty cool guy."

Ruby shrugged. "We don't really get along."

"Why not? You're quite similar really."

"We have different viewpoints about certain things, it's kind of complicated.."

"You're really going to leave me to suffer, dying from curiosity?" Freddy demanded dramatically, sinking to his knees in the middle of the shop.

Ruby giggled despite herself. "I was planning to."

Freddy grabbed her hand, pulling her forward as he got back to his feet. "No fair Ruby! Do not reject me from your heart so!"

"What are you doing?" Ruby laughed.

"Protecting our love from your cold contempt!" Freddy exclaimed, backing into a stack of books and knocking them to the floor.

"Freddy watch out!"

Glancing at the fallen books Freddy shrugged. "It's only divination, no one really cares about that anyway and - " He added, returning to his over-the-top, theatre voice. "_Nothing _is more important than our love."

"What if I turned out to be a Slytherin?" Ruby began to ask, however the shop assistant had returned with the rest of Ruby's books and was looking very angry.

"If you don't mind just pay for your books and leave thank you. _You _might not care about divination but we certainly do not approve of the mistreatment of books!"

Laughing hysterically the two of them left the bookshop. "Did you _see _his face?" Ruby demanded, panting in an effort to breathe. "He was furious!" Freddy however had managed to regain his composure.

"You think this is funny wait till you see some of the stuff that goes on in the Gryffindor common room!"

"Why are you so sure I'll be a Gryffindor? For all you know I could very well be in Slytherin, you won't know till that talking hat of yours decides!"

"Oh quite the contrary Ruby my dear. My brother Chase and I, did I mention Chase? I think I did. Well Chase and I have devised a house-predictor test which I will now test you with."

"Go ahead."

Ok so you see a girl who is smoking– wait you're a girl so make that a guy that's bloody fit, he's single by the way, and he's alone in an empty corridor. Do you a) flirt, b) try to melt into the floor, c -" But option c was interrupted by another red headed, blue eyed person.

"Freddy?"

Freddy turned around at the sound of his name and seeing the older girl grinned. "Ruby, may I introduce my fabulous sister Roxanne?" Roxane nodded at Ruby before turning back to Freddy.

"Dad needs you to help out in the shop, you can finish your pre-sorting later." Roxanne then hung back, turning away a little to allow Freddy to say goodbye. Freddy however didn't have much to say.

"Well bye then Ruby, I'll write you the rest of the test and you can circle your answers for me. See you at school."

"See you." Ruby said with a wave, before heading off to buy her school robes.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly. Ruby bought herself four sets of Hogwarts robes with lots of extra school shirts and socks because she was prone to losing things. Then she went off in search of clothes that were better suited to the English climate coming back with an array of knit jumpers, jeans, a pair of black combat boots, a leather bag she thought more up to being rained on then her current swede one, fourteen different pairs of tights that she had decided were her new wardrobe staple, several skirts, two pairs of converse that she was very surprised to find in a wizarding store and a black crushed velvet dress she had been unable to resist. Afterward she went to have lunch with the blue haired Teddy and found him even more to her liking then her first impression had. Teddy was funny, nice, generous and, if the loving way he talked about her was any indicator, madly in love with a mysterious girl named Victorie'.

When she later looked back on that day, the day she was first happy in England, Ruby would forever remember it as the first time she was kicked out of a bookstore, because strangely enough it wouldn't be the last. But that came later. After lunch with Teddy Ruby returned to her father's house in the best mood she had been in since leaving Australia. She felt rejuvenated, like she had after a sleepover at her best friend Jeannie's house. And for the first time she considered making some sort of overture to her father, that she should perhaps do something to heal their estranged relationship. However when Ruby opened the door, it was not to the sounds of an empty house like she had expected but to the sounds of her father and Nadia screaming at one and other. Their yells echoing back and forth in the cavernous house.

"-MY HOUSE TOO JOHN! HOW CAN I LIVE WITH A GIRL THAT COLD HEARTEDLY DISDAINS ME? SHE'S A MONSTER JOHN AND -"

"SHE'S MY DAUGHTER NADIA AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANOTHER PLACE TO GO TO! DO YOU THINK SHE WOULD COME HERE IF SHE HAD ANY OTHER CHOICE?"

"WHY WOULDN'T SHE? WE HAVE A BIG HOUSE, MONEY - "

"AND I _SEND _HER MONEY NADIA! MORE THAN SHE COULD WANT! SHE'S NOT HERE BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO BE, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY!"

"Then why do you let her stay?" Nadia demanded with a sob.

"She's my daughter." Ruby's father said with a sigh.

"AND I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Nadia yelled before her voice dropped back to a whisper. "Don't I matter anymore?"

"Of course Nadia, of course. But when I left Ruby with Julia, Ruby had a home with Julia. She's got nowhere else to go now."

"It always comes down to Julia doesn't it?" Nadia asked bitterly.

"I left Julia for you, and if you'll remember rightly I left Ruby as well. Which I strongly suspect is the reason she dislikes you."

"Dislikes? She hates me John!"

"And how would you feel if I left you because of her, even temporarily."

"It's not the same thing."

"Oh I think it is, Ruby was eleven when Julia and I split. She never realized we were anything but happy. All she saw was me leaving.

"She's older now John, she isn't an idiot, surely she can understand -"

"Her feelings about my divorce with her mother were formed years ago and I've tried to make her understand. Can't you see that? But she doesn't want to. She wants you to be the monster she imagined because then she can blame me for everything that's gone wrong. Then she can pretend you tricked me into leaving her." He sighed. "Something in hindsight I regret."

"You regret coming with me?" Nadia demanded, sounding stricken.

"You can't possibly understand how it's strained things with my children Nadia and even though I love you, they're my _children _Nads. You'll understand my feelings when you have your own children -"

"You _do _regret coming with me."

"'William can't understand how I could divorce their mother and leave them in a matter of weeks, Matthew blames me for the abuse Ruby has suffered these last few years, Ruby hates me for leaving her. I don't ever regret coming with _you. _I just regret leaving them."

It was hard for Ruby to fall asleep that night, guilt gnawed at her for the pain she was causing her father but she also felt a sensation of burning anger. Nadia was angry at her father for putting Ruby before her, but Nadia had taken her father away from her completely for _years. _She didn't have a right to that anger because of what she had taken from Ruby and still John reassured her he didn't regret coming to England. Ruby felt a surge of guilt at that thought, her father loved living in England, he loved the snow, he loved the people, he loved living near his parents and, he loved Nadia.

And in the end that was why Ruby felt guilty. She was taking away from her father someone he loved, the last someone who loved him without anger and bitterness, because Ruby knew that she and her brothers would never quite get over how abruptly he had left, no matter if they all eventually accepted Nadia into their midst.


	2. Rebellion

TWO

Rebellion

Freddy Weasley

Over the next few days Ruby packed her Hogwarts trunk with her uniforms, new clothes, books and other boarding school essentials including her makeup, polaroid camera, quills, parchment, her sketchbook, a sewing kit, a few unnecessary pairs of heels and a large bag of galleons she had been given by her father. She also received a letter from Freddy, not containing the promised "pre-sorting sorting" but instead detailed a prank he and his brother (who's name was Chase) had pulled on Roxane, the older sister who had come for him at Diagon Alley. In his letter Freddy also mentioned several people with which Ruby was unfamiliar, Freddy however, assured her that these faceless people were 'just great' and that she would meet them at Hogwarts.

Ruby was glad to get the letter, both because she would know someone at Hogwarts and because she desperately needed a distraction from life at home. Her father and Nadia hadn't argued since that last night but she could tell things were strained between them after the fight. It wouldn't particularly bother her if her presence were to end Nadia and John's relationship but she knew it would only further damage her relationship with her father. Considering what awaited her in her mother's home in Australia, Ruby at least wanted the right to remain with her father. Here at least she was safe. Ruby received another letter in her last few days before Hogwarts, but this one held nothing unfamiliar. It was from her best friend Jeannie.

**Ruby, **

**Things here at Sandfields are dull without you. No one to sneak out to parties with, well unless I wanted to be given Cassie duty and drag her back to our dorm at five am. But it doesn't really appeal you know? I'm really jealous of you being on holidays and everything and you get an extra early summer! Here it's still freezing. School in general is fine, you know it's school. Annie and Dean have gone "official" about time too considering they've dated for about five months. ...By the way, I wasn't sure whether I should tell you this or not, but Jeremy is seeing someone new. Her name's Lisa and she's a fourth year. A fourth year! For fucks sake she's a child and he's no innocent considering how pushy he was with you. You're well out of there. Speaking of, you're well out of here as well. I mean, I miss you like crazy, don't get me wrong but I'm not alone, I've still got Annie to hang out with and you needed to get away from home. There have been stories about Jonathan since you left, he came back from break with bruises all over. I think I know what that means and I don't like it, sounds like your mother's gotten worse since you left. **

**I'm just glad you left. **

**How are you holding up over there anyway? And be honest! I know you don't talk to anyone else about this kind of thing, so at least talk to me. Hopefully Nadia is smart enough to leave you alone and your father realizes to take baby steps and hopefully you'll not hold grudges against your father at least. He was an ass, yes, but all things considering are you really surprised he left her? No, you're not. Don't take your temper out on him and try not to hold a grudge, you know it will work out better that way. **

**God! I'm telling you off like a mother aren't I? Some things never change. Well anyway, history of magic is nearly over so I've got to go but I'll write you again once you're supposed to be at school Just use Izzy for the letter, I told her to hang around until you replied. **

**Love,**

**Jeannie. **

The letter made Ruby desperately homesick, she missed Jeannie, her best friend, she missed Annie, her conscience and sense of reason, she missed Eric treating her like a little sister, she missed Jason who constantly smelled of smoke, she missed Rachel, the badass quiddich Captain and Cassie their alcoholic roommate. She missed midnight swims at the beach, sneaking out to parties, she missed Annie telling her and Jeannie off for sneaking out to said parties. She missed Jeannie, who was a muggleborn, swearing to 'god', she missed Eric watching over her and Jeannie like they were his little sister's as well as Annie, she even missed Cassie coming back into their dorm drunk every morning just as Ruby and Annie, who were both on the quiddich team, got up for their morning run. But it was strange because the things she missed had nothing to do with the tin roofed beach cottage she had lived in her entire life and had everything to do with school. Stranger still she didn't miss Jeremy who had been her boyfriend for six months before she moved. Surprisingly seeing that Jeremy had a new girlfriend after she'd only _just _left the country didn't bother her. She'd thought she'd liked him but she hadn't spared him a thought until Jeannie's letter had arrived. The letter also served to heighten Ruby's sense of guilt with the power that only Jeannie had over Ruby. The power to make her realize when she was wrong, and this time at least, she was wrong. She had every right to be angry, but the way she was approaching that anger was not the right way to go about it. However it was the only way she could think of coping with it, so that left Ruby stumped as how to handle her father.

Ruby spent the next few days thinking about Jeannie's letter and two days before she was due to go to Hogwarts she wrote back to her friend telling Jeannie about how guilty she felt, the weather in England and the nice boy she had met in Diagon Alley. She finished adding all the little things into her trunk, she drew a sketch of Teddy, coloring only his hair the turquoise it appeared in real life, she explored the grounds that surrounded the huge countryhouse and came across a tree lined grove through which a small stream went emptying into a pond on the north side of the house. Ruby took several photographs of the grove and stuck them up on her wall so there was _something _to break up the endless white. Then she put up a number of her colored sketches and photographs of herself, Jeannie, Annie, Eric, her brothers Will and Matt and Will's girlfriend Saira, as well as pictures of her other friends back home in Australia. At the end of the makeover the room looked much more pleasant, much more _Ruby. _It contained a trace of everything she cared about. There were no photographs of her parents.

The day before she would catch the Hogwarts Express Ruby awoke early. Downstairs she could hear her father and Nadia getting ready to go to work, Nadia was cooking something on the stove and her father was talking in a low voice, no doubt whilst reading the newspaper. It was nice just to listen to their everyday busyness while she lay luxuriating in the clean sheets, she wasn't entirely sure when or who had changed them but she was glad they had. Ruby lay there, not really thinking about anything, just enjoying the sensation of feeling completely relaxed but eventually a craving began to gnaw at her and Ruby sighed in irritation. She hadn't felt that craving since coming to England and had hoped that the cold or the distance she had travelled had shocked the addiction out of her system. She'd certainly been stressed and upset enough that it didn't seem logical she'd been able to go so long without a cigarette.

Downstairs she heard a door close and realized she was going to have to pack one more item if she had any hope of surviving a whole term at Hogwarts. There was only one problem, neither her father nor Nadia smoked. She was going to have to go on an adventure into the muggle world and purchase enough cigarettes to last her until December. It wasn't something she'd never done before but always before Ruby had known the area she traveled in.

"Thank _Merlin _I kept my muggle ID." Ruby muttered to herself as she climbed out of bed, she was probably going to have to find multiple places to buy herself a full stash without looking suspicious.

Dressing quickly and feeling very satisfied as she put on her new red chucks, Ruby went to the cupboard containing virtually all the things she had brought from Australia. Amongst endless pairs of shorts, spaghetti string bikinis and short dresses Ruby found her old wallet which contained the last of her muggle money and the credit card her mother had gifted her on her twelfth birthday, back when she was the favorite. The card had never been cancelled and Julia always paid whatever bill Ruby racked up without questioning what she bought, even after Hugh.

Once more Ruby apparated to Diagon Alley, but this time she didn't linger in the Leaky Cauldron or go into the Alley itself, instead she took the other door and exited into the muggle world. There she was assaulted by sight and sound, the bustling world of muggle London. Straight away Ruby saw four different places that would sell her what she wanted and within half an hour had over fifteen packets of cigarettes and had run up two hundred pounds on her mother's credit card. Ruby's mother wouldn't make comment on such a purchase, she probably wouldn't even notice, Julia was blessed with seemingly endless wealth. And what's more she needed Ruby to keep quiet, Ruby had earned every cent her mother gave her. She'd earned it in bruises, cut lips and abuse.

So Ruby added to her collection of England proof clothing. Three more pairs of heels came into her possession, a t-shirt with a 'Beatles' logo, several more expensive dresses she didn't need, including a short black lace number and a trenchcoat she actually thought might be useful in keeping warm. It was when she bought a pair of leather gloves over a pair she liked better only because they were more expensive that Ruby realized she was attempting to fill the void of loneliness within her with clothes and pointless expenditure. Suddenly she didn't really feel like going into that shoe store next door like she had planned and instead headed straight back to the Leaky Cauldron ready to head home.

"Ruby, back again are we?" Teddy called out to her as she entered the doors, a part of Ruby wanted to stop and talk to the friendly bartender but the greater part wanted to go home and cry.

"Just passing through." Ruby called back, taking a handful of floo powder from out of her bag and apparating back home. The second she was out of the fireplace Ruby ran upstairs to stash her purchases, packing all of the dresses, the trenchcoat and exchanging two of her old pairs of heels for new ones. She lined the outside edge of her suitcase with the packets of cigarettes in plain black packaging, hoping no one would spy them. And then she was outside on her balcony, cigarette in her hand, lighting up with the leather embossed lighter Jason had given her for her sixteenth birthday just passed. It was terrible at sixteen that she smoked and Ruby was minorly ashamed of herself, but the relaxation she felt as she inhaled was unbelievable. All the tension of the last few weeks drained away and for the first time in what felt like months, Ruby was at peace.

The next morning was a flurry of activity. Ruby had to check and double check that she had all the things she needed, shower, dress, triple check she had everything she needed and then hauled everything downstairs so that she could eat a quick breakfast. Nadia tentatively handed her a plate of hot pancakes drizzled in chocolate syrup, topped with ice cream and strawberries. Ruby simply thanked her and sat down to eat, it was already ten o'clock and the train was to leave at eleven.

Ruby scarfed the pancakes, barely noting that they were one of the most delicious things she had ever eaten. Then, holding her father's arm in one hand and her trunk in the other, John apparated the two of them right onto platform 9 3/4.

Ruby let go of her father and arranged her bags so they were easier to carry onto the train and then turned back to her father. They stood their awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to say to one and other anymore. It seemed that everything had been said and they were virtually strangers now. Ruby suddenly wished she could light up and wondered if she might be able to find an open window somewhere isolated on the train.

"Well, I'll see you at Christmas then Ruby Rose. Have a great term, be safe." Ruby nodded, having heard the words many times before heading off to a term at Sandfields.

"Alright, goodbye Ruby."

"Bye Dad." John turned back look at her, already having begun to leave, looking ecstatic and surprised. It was then that Ruby realized how long it had been since she had called her father 'Dad', since she had called him anything at all except 'that ass'.

"You called me Dad."

"You _are_ my Dad."

"Yes, yes, well see you at Christmas."

"Bye Dad."

"Goodbye Ruby."

When John was gone, Ruby picked up her trunk and headed towards the train weaving between the excited students who were yelling at their friends and the terrified first years. _The first years have got it right, this is fucking scary. _Ruby thought to herself as she got on the train. She wasn't really sure what to expect from a school train, having always arrived at the Sandfield's gates with her parents or taking one of the portkeys scattered around the country for students. The train had a long corridor with frosted glass doors on either side, clearly compartmentalized. This made Ruby quite nervous because now she, whilst knowing no one, had to find somewhere to sit.

Unsure where to start Ruby was just standing there feeling awkward when she heard a voice behind her. "Excuse me."

"Excuse me!" Ruby turned around to face a short, freckled girl with orange-red curls and a proud glare. The girl was already in her school uniform although the train had yet to pull away from the station and her skirt was, Ruby noticed, ridiculously long.

"Yes." Ruby answered, staring at the bossy little girl in surprise. "I'm Rub -"

"Ruby Jones, I could tell by your accent, we only have one from Sandfields."

"I know."

"Hmmph, yes well, I've just come to inform you that one; the exchange students are meeting in carriage A, compartment four where the Head Boy and Girl will instruct you on what to do once we reach the castle and also that your hair colour does not comply with Hogwarts uniform requirements."

"I'm sorry what?"

"Are you deaf?" The little girl demanded.

"No, I just didn't understand how my hair doesn't comply with Hogwarts uniform requirements and yours does."

"Mine is natural and yours is clearly not." The girl said primly.

"It's natural."

"Scarlet is not a natural hair colour."

"Tell my hair that."

"Hmmph well, don't come to crying to me when you're in trouble. I was trying to help."

"You weren't doing a very good job."

"Just be in carriage A, compartment four by twelve-thirty okay?"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"Good." And with that, the bossy redhead stalked off, down the other end of the train leaving Ruby to stare after her incredulously. She sincerely hoped that most Hogwarts students were more laid back then that little brat.

"I see you've met cousin Rose." Ruby spun once more to face a redhead, but an entirely different one. Although he looked much like his 'cousin Rose' with orange-red hair, pale skin with a smattering of freckles and oddly delicate features, Ruby had already met this particular redhead and she knew he was nothing like his prim cousin.

"Freddy." Ruby said with a grin, recognizing the mischievous boy that had helped her get through to Diagon Alley instantly. "You're related to - that?"

"Don't judge Rose too harshly, she just made prefect and she wants to prove to everyone that she won't let her prankster family off the hook. Judge her later on when she's being her usual, hypocritical self."

"I'm guessing that the 'prankster family' means you?"

"And James, and Louis, and Chase although she's never caught Chase. He's quite sneaky. So's Nate come to think of it, Rose is just lucky not to be related to him as well."

Ruby nodded vaguely at the unfamiliar names as if she knew what he was talking about but within a second Freddy had realized his mistake. "Oh that's right! You have no idea who I'm talking about being Australian and what not. Well there's one easy way to fix that, come with me, I'll introduce you to the boys and Delilah."

"Oh - you don't have to -"

"Nonsense, they're all curious anyway after I mentioned you and James' Mum is good friends with Nadia so she's talked about you as - oh don't you like Nadia?" Freddy asked noticing that Ruby's expression darkened at the mention of her stepmother.

"She's the reason my parents got divorced."

"Oh, well I can see how that would put a damper on the relationship, but you should give Nads a chance. She's pretty great."Ruby grunted noncommittally and Freddy dropped the subject without further prompt. "But basically the guys are dying to meet you."

"Cool." Ruby replied trying to shake the bad mood, reminding herself that aside from the bossy prefect Rose, Freddy was the only person she knew here. It took them only a few minutes to reach the compartment Freddy wanted and it probably would have taken no time at all if it weren't for Ruby's luggage falling over as the train began to depart.

"Here we are." Freddy said, sliding the glass door open. "Our compartment."

"Freddy!" Several boys exclaimed as the two of them entered the carriage.

"Girl?" One of them demanded pointing at Ruby and for a second Ruby fought the urge to laugh.

"This is Ruby." Freddy clarified and there were sounds of comprehension throughout the carriage. Ruby looked about the carriage, noting that there were four male occupants and one female. One of the boys bore an odd likeness to the girl that was so close it suggested to Ruby they were twins. Both had dark skin, soft looking black hair and unexpectedly light grey eyes.

"That's Nate." Freddy said, pointing to the dark skinned boy. "And Delilah, they're twins." Freddy finished confirming Ruby's suspicion.

"That there is Louis." Freddy pointed to a blonde boy with shockingly blue eyes. Louis was almost too pretty for a boy, yet there was something masculine in the way he held himself and the easy smile he gave Ruby as Freddy introduced him. It was a little unnerving looking at Louis so Ruby quickly looked to the next occupant of the carriage.

"My brother Chase." Freddy said, pointing to a dark haired boy that looked so unlike redheaded and freckled Freddy that it was impossible they were blood brothers.

"And James, his Mum, Ginny, is friends with your Nadia." Ruby again fought the urge to punch something at the mention of Nadia's name but was quickly distracted by James who was, in every way Ruby thought important, downright sexy. As his name was mentioned he winked at her, with the flirtatious confidence Ruby had always found to be so attractive in a guy. He had black hair that stood up oddly at the back and hazel eyes that were full of a mystery that Ruby was just dying to solve. Yes it was official, five minutes into her trip to Hogwarts (they weren't even there yet!) and Ruby had found her first Hogwarts crush.

Ruby fought the urge to stare and instead grinned at the boys and girl that were staring her so interestedly.

"So you're Australian?" Louis, the pretty one, asked.

"I am."

"Cool." And with that, conversation resumed as if Ruby had always been there. In the time that followed Ruby spoke predominantly to Louis and Freddy. Louis questioning her about Australia, as having travelled to most of Europe and America, he was obsessed with foreign culture, Freddy just making inappropriate jokes and teasing her about how terrifying Hogwarts was. Ruby learnt that Louis' beauty made her so uneasy because he was part veela and that he too was Freddy's cousin, as was James and that James, was related to the twins. There was an awful lot of inter-relation going on in their carriage. At one point Delilah spoke with her, asking her about her hair (which was in fact dyed, she had lied to get out of trouble with Rose) and briefly discussing how most girls wore their school uniform before a tall, slim, blonde girl opened the carriage door looking for Delilah.

"Sorry Ruby, I've got to go with Abbey and sit with the girls."

"Sure thing." Ruby said with a smile she didn't entirely mean, it was odd feeling so out of the loop. She didn't know anyone or have set friends of her own to sit with.

"Cool, see you at the feast." And Delilah was gone.

It was then that Ruby began to really miss Jeannie. This train ride would be so much more fun with her best friend. If Jeannie was here Ruby would probably feel brave enough to go and sit by the gorgeous James Potter whilst Jeannie debated whether she was more into angel faced and hilarious Freddy or flirtatious and downright beautiful Louis. Both pale, blue eyed boys were exactly Jeannie's type and it bothered Ruby that her friend wasn't here to determine which she liked better. Ruby sat, the conversation moving around her, feeling very lonely until unexpectedly someone sat beside her. Ruby looked up and right into the eyes of James Potter. Oh wow that boy was gorgeous, Ruby had never had such a dramatic reaction to just a boy's looks before. A part of her hoped he was a complete asshole because it would be terrifying to have this big of a proper crush on somebody. She's only known him for half an hour or so! In a week she'd be in love.

"You look quite lonely sitting here so quietly." James commented, smiling down on her. He was quite a bit taller than she was.

"I don't know what to say, it's all a bit different." Ruby admitted.

"England or Hogwarts?"

"Both."

"You'll get used to it, besides Hogwarts is brilliant." James said with a grin.

"It's just school." Ruby said with a shrug. "It's the people that make it."

"What you're saying we don't match up to your Australian friends?" James teased.

"No! You're all much more attractive -"

"Really?" James asked with a smile that was once more flirtatious and Ruby realized what she'd said. "Well isn't that interesting? What were you planning on doing about all this attractiveness?"

"Oh stop that." Ruby said with a glare and James, rather abruptly stopped smoldering at her in that painfully gorgeous way and instead stared at her in shock.

"Stop that?"

"Yes."

"Stop what exactly?"

"You know what I'm talking about, you just stopped."

"Well what did I stop?"

"Smoldering and giving me sex eyes!"

"You think I have sexy eyes?"

"I think you're infuriating."

"I know." James said and then he laughed. "But you're going to like me anyway."

"I am?"

"Oh yeah, all girls do."

Ruby crossed her arms and glared at James. "I've dated boys like you and they haven't spun my head, so don't think you can."

"You've dated boys like me. Oh Ruby, there are no boys like me. There is only me I'm in a league of my own."

"Well there are no girls like me."

"I think I'm starting to see that." James said with a strange smile. "You're odd Ruby Jones."

"How do you know my last name?"

"How do you know mine?"

"Your parents are famous."

"Oh yeah. Well your Dad is a family friend. He's mentioned you." James said as if it was that easy to forget that one's father saved the entire wizarding world and his mother was one of the best female quiddich players of all time.

"You know my Dad?"

"And your brothers." James answered with a nod.

"Wait, Will and Matt have visited Dad?"

"You sound shocked, isn't it normal to visit your father?"

"My Dad left my Mum for some English woman floozy he'd known a few weeks." Ruby deadpanned. The guilt she had been fighting off ever since overhearing Nadia and her father's argument rising to the surface once again.

"We see John and Nadia differently apparently." James said after a moment apparently spent processing her ill opinion of her father.

"I prefer not to see them."

"They love each other." James said after a moment of staring at her incredulously, Ruby shied away from that stare. He thought she was heartless and cruel too. Not that anyone had said that aloud for him to agree with, the only person Ruby knew that thought that way, was herself. Yes, she definitely needed a cigarette.

"So did my parents."

The two of them fell into silence just as the rest of the carriage's occupants did, the brief lull was broken within a moment however. "What time is it?" Nate asked the ever quiet Chase. "I'm starving."

Chase glanced at a gold watch with a huge leather band on his wrist before answering. "Nearly half twelve. The trolley should be here soon."

Half twelve. Something about that stirred in Ruby's memory and it was a second before she realized what. "Shit!"

The boys all glanced at her curiously. "What's up?" Freddy asked.

"I've got to be in carriage A, compartment four at twelve-thirty. An exchange student meeting."

"You're going to be late." James informed her.

"Yeah I know, your cousin is going to kill me."


	3. Light Me Up

THREE

LIGHT ME UP

**_A/N: If you are one of those people like me that like to see pictures of the fanfiction's "dreamcast" etc then I have a full blog dedicated to such things for my fanfictions. Pictures of characters, of particular outfits or locations. Whatever is relevant as well as random short-stories that come into my mind that have the same characters but don't necessarily fit into any stories. The blog is rubynjames on tumblr. If you are interested there is a link on my profile._**

Ruby opened the door to the compartment Rose had requested, or rather ordered, her to go to she was relieved to find that the short redheaded girl was not there. Instead there was a crowd of students at all ages, speaking amongst each other in multiple languages. Ruby recognized a pair of girls as having American accents and heard what she thought was Italian coming from the largest clump of students, two boys spoke in what Ruby thought _might_ be Russian and one particularly beautiful girl spoke to a tall man, a teacher no doubt, with a strong French accent, a few more girls gathered behind her not saying anything at all.

"Ah Ruby is it?" The tall man asked, his accent british, upon seeing her.

"Yes sir." Ruby answered, suddenly very aware of her own accent.

"Excellent, we're all here." The room went quiet and everyone turned their faces to look at the man. Ruby awkwardly slipped into a seat beside the French girl to glares from her posse.

"Welcome to you all, I am Professor Longbottom the school's Herbology professor and I am responsible for the changing of the tri-wizard tournament into a simple, and far less dangerous, exchange program. For what originally began as three schools, Hogwarts, Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang, we, as of this year now boast a seven school alliance which is quite exciting I must say." He beamed around at the students and Ruby found she couldn't help smiling back.

"So here with the red hair we have Ruby Jones from Sandfields in Australia." Longbottom said pointing to her. Ruby stared at the table in embarrassment and was very glad when the professor moved to point to the beautiful girl beside her.

"This lovely lady is Marie' Jantour from Beaubaxtons in France." Marie' beamed at the professor.

"Marie would you be so kind as to distinguish each of your fellows as I haven't had a chance to meet them yet?"

"Zis is Isabelle', Grace and Cecily." Marie' said pointing at each of the girls in turn.

And so it went, Professor Longbottom and the other students introducing everyone. Ruby discovered that the boys she had thought Russian were in fact Bulgarian and from Durmstrang, the American girls were from Salem Institute, the seven Italian students from Arcali Academy and four students Ruby had not seen when she first entered were from Zauberwelt, a school in Germany.

"So out of the twenty of you, four are transferring for their remaining school years, six are here only for three months and the rest of you have decided to stay for the course of one full school year. Anyone want to change that? Now is your last chance so to speak." When no one spoke Professor Longbottom went on. "So for those of you here on exchange, whether full year or just the three month duration, dormitories will be provided for you as well as a common room. You may chose to sit at any of the tables depending on who you make friends with during your time here. At the start of the feast you will be introduced by name and your school then you may take any seat you please. After this those of you joining our ranks will be sorted just before the first year Hogwarts students, your names will be called and the school you have come from announced. Then the sorting hat will dictate which table you are to sit at and which house dormitory you will join. Is that clear to everyone?"

There were a few muttered affirmatives and head nods so Professor Longbottom once more proceeded. "You've all sent in which classes you're taking so your timetables will be of no concern and any school rules of importance will be read out at the feast by Professor McGonagall. If you are not transferring you must wear your own school's uniform to classes, if you are you must obviously wear the Hogwarts uniform. Well I think that's just about everything so I'll let you all go."

Professor Longbottom left but none of the other students did, now feeling braver knowing one and other's names they mingled introducing themselves.

"Are we allowed to drink here?" One of the American girls Ruby thought was named Larissa asked curiously.

"No." Ruby answered.

"You're sure?"

"Zhey come of age at seventeen 'ere." Marie' replied before Ruby could.

"'Ow disappointing." Commented one of Marie's fangirls to another.

"That sucks." The American girl said with a sigh.

"Ze Gryffindors are supposed to 'ave zery good parties, zhere will be alcohol somewhere." One of the Durmstrang boys said.

"The Hufflepuff's have been having an annual party for like twenty years. And everyone is invited." The only girl to come from Zauberwelt added.

Ruby was a girl who liked to attend her fair share of parties but this conversation was grating on her nerves it was so - so frivolous! So stupid. _Ugh I need that cigarette. _Excusing herself Ruby left the compartment and went in search of an empty one, this far up the train it wasn't hard to find as the compartments got older and significantly less flush and by that quality less popular.

Finally, after passing up an empty one too near a group of first years, Ruby found herself a nice isolated compartment with an already open window. The faint hint of tobacco smoke in the air, suggested this compartment had been used for this purpose before. With relief Ruby went straight to the window and lit herself up, breathing in the familiar smoke with a sigh of relief.

She'd barely got in her second puff when she was interrupted.

"Well, well, well Miss Australia smoking? Very poor form you know, not at all ladylike. I see your daddy issues are finally making an appearance."

Ruby turned from the open window to glare at James Potter who was leaning against the compartment door she'd foolishly left open, an amused smirk somehow making him more attractive.

"Hey, don't glare at me like that. I _like _girls with daddy issues, they always seem to like me better than other girls."

"And what if I don't like you?"

"That would only make you all the more interesting Australia." James said, coming into the compartment and closing the frosted glass door behind him. Joining her at the window he too pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. "Light me up, Red."

"I came here to be alone you know."

"Then by all means leave, but I was quite enjoying the novelty of having someone to smoke with."

"Surely someone else at Hogwarts is willing to have a cigarette with you, and I was here first, so you leave."

"If you count Professor Sinstra there is one person at Hogwarts with this bad habit aside from you and me and she is a complete and utter bitch. Besides, I was here first if you couldn't tell by the lingering tobacco smoke, so _you _leave." Once more James smirked at her and Ruby glared back in return.

With a sigh, she pulled out her lighter and lit the end of his cigarette.

"That's the spirit Australia." James said, sitting down in the chair opposite her. "So why don't you tell me something about yourself."

"Well you know me already don't you? I'm Australian, I'm redheaded, I smoke and I dislike my father."

"Then tell me, why move to England and across the world to be with him?"

"The daddy issues are there but the mummy issues are so much worse."

"Oh?"

"Oh." Ruby didn't feel like explaining to this very attractive boy just exactly the kind of woman her mother had turned out to be, or what her mother had done to make Ruby leave. The hard wall pressed into the last, unfaded bruise, reminding her exactly why she had left, she didn't need to tell her story to this unsettling boy to remember. The headache that had plagued for days started to pound in her head and she took another drag of her cigarette.

"Well don't you worry Australia, I've got my own daddy issues."

"And that's why you share my bad habit is it?"

"Only way to relax when you've got all that crap running through your head." James said winking at her like he had earlier in the day and sending the butterflies in Ruby's stomach into overdrive.

"Damn straight."

The two took another puff together as Ruby's cigarette burned out.

"You know for two people who've only just met this is a very deep conversation we're having." James mused after a moment with only the sound of the train on the tracks and the wind whipping past their window disturbing their silence.

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe it's the cigarettes."

"Maybe." James said as his own burned out. "But I think it might just be you."

"Come again?"

"I like you Ruby Jones. You interest me."

"Thanks?"

"Aww come on Australia, not even going to say you like me too?"

Ruby smirked at him, suddenly feeling as if she had the upper hand for the first time since meeting this charming boy. She didn't say anything, she only winked. James pouted at her with a ridiculous attempt at puppy eyes and she shook her head, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're mean Australia." James whinged.

"What can I say?"

Unexpectedly James laughed. Ruby looked at him inquisitively but he didn't explain his amusement saying only. "It's going to be nice to have a smoke buddy. Anyway, we're going to be missed if we linger here much longer, come on."

And so Ruby followed James out of the compartment, slightly confused as to what had just happened, but now sure that her interest in James Potter stemmed beyond friendship. He was simply too charming for her to resist.

A food trolley came and went, the occupants of Ruby's compartment buying more than enough to feed them all twice over. Once again Ruby was seated beside Louis, finding that conversation came easily between them. Later on, just as Ruby was beginning to tire of conversation, a game of Exploding Snap was begun and Ruby had shuffled to sit next to Chase, Freddy's dark haired brother. When Delilah returned, just after dark, Ruby was talking to her twin, Nate giving her a rundown on the expectations of all Hogwart's different teachers. And then at long last the train began to slow and finally came to a halt, through the window Ruby could see a sign on the train platform reading 'Hogsmeade' which, Ruby knew, was the village near Hogwarts.

"Finally!" James exclaimed loudly, echoing her thoughts and getting to his feet.

They all got their luggage together and clambered onto the platform, the screech of owls and a great deal of yelling making it a very noisy affair. On the platform Ruby was parted from Freddy and his friends as Professor Longbottom swept past, gathering all the exchange students away from the masses. From there he led them towards a lake, a very difficult task for someone pulling a trunk behind them.

"This is the way everyone should first view Hogwarts." He said before leaving them with a giant of a man, he introduced as Hagrid. Hagrid briefly explained that he was the Care of Magical Creatures Professor and that they would be going to the castle in a fleet of little boats which bobbed unsteadily at the edge of the lake. For the gathered first years the boats were big enough to fit four per boat, but for the mostly much older and bigger exchange students it was restricted to two per boat.

Everyone climbed into the nearest boat, Ruby ending up with one of the Germans, a tall brunette girl named Ingrid. She introduced herself in accentless English and the two began to chat about what they expected Hogwarts to be like.

"I'm transferring because my parents insist all of us do in our fifth year, I'm the youngest of four and Hogwarts just happened to be the school this year. My oldest sister went to Salem, the next to Durmstrang, although because girls can only stay for a year she then went to Beaubaxtons and my brother went to Arcali in Italy. So I'm the first to Hogwarts in my entire family. You're transferring too aren't you, any of your folk go to Hogwarts?"

"Uh, I think my dad did."

"Cool! Do you know what house he was in?"

"Someone told me once he was a Gryffindor but he never mentioned it."

"Wasn't Harry Potter in Gryffindor? I think it'd be cool to be in Gryffindor although any house would be fine really - " But Ingrid didn't finish her sentence because at that moment they had their first view of Hogwarts. It was a beautiful, complex castle made of dark stone, every window lit up so that it shone like a beacon, the stars above it twinkling and the moonlight leaving a trail on the lake below. It was quite the sight.

"Oh _shit." _

"I know what you mean." Ingrid agreed.

They were all quiet for the rest of the boat ride until Hagrid's booming voice pierced the silence with the command "DUCK!" As they all obeyed the boats went under a wall of ivy leading into a hidden harbor, the boats coming to the edge so they could all climb ashore. Waiting for them was the tiniest wizard Ruby had ever seen dressed in midnight blue robes with tiny silver embroideries that winked like stars in the fabric.

"Good evening Hagrid! Anyone fall in?" The wizard asked in a squeaky voice befitting his appearance.

"Not this time." Hagrid said with a chuckle.

"Excellent! Excellent! Well then, come on through!" The tiny wizard led them through two huge doors and into what Ruby supposed must be some sort of anti-chamber into the hall. "Alright, exchange students first, transfers second and after that we'll have the first years."

All of the exchange students except for Ingrid, Marie', Ruby and a Arcali boy Ruby couldn't remember the name of.

"Paolo." He muttered to the three girls.

"Ruby."

"Marie'."

"Ingrid."

"My last name's Asti, anyone before that?" He asked, his English nowhere near as clear as Ingrid's. The three of them shook their heads.

"Mine iz Jantour."

"Jones."

"Mine is Klein so I suppose I'll be last."

The four of them waited nervously together, burning with curiosity as to which house they would be sorted into as Professor Flitwick led the other foreign students through a grand doorway. Until finally - "we're ready for the transfers now!" Professor Flitwick's voice called from through the door he had just exited and the four turned to Hagrid.

"Come on now, don' be shy." Hagrid said. "Through the door ye' go."

Uncertainly and glancing at one and other to see that they were all together the four of them walked through the door and into the hall beyond. The second they stepped through the threshold the hall started to buzz with murmured conversation. Ruby suddenly felt very self conscious and hoped fervently that she wouldn't fall on her face because of some mis-step.

Finally they reached the end of the hall and huddled together until Professor Flitwick called the first name.

"Ingrid Klein."

Ingrid turned to look at the others in alarm, apparently they weren't to be called in alphabetical order or she would have been called last. The hat sat on her head only for a moment before calling out; "SLYTHERIN!"

"Paolo Asti." For Paolo too the wait was short and only a second later he joined Ingrid as the hat proclaimed him "SLYTHERIN!"

"Marie' Jantour." The hat took longer to decide for Marie', it was almost a minute in fact before it made it's decision. "RAVENCLAW!" Professor Flitwick removed the hat from Marie's head and, getting up, Marie' sauntered her way over to the Ravenclaw table, her groupies immediately leaving the Slytherin table to join her.

"Ruby Jones." As she walked up onto the dais and towards the hat, Ruby was fervently glad she had been called last. The Slytherins were occupied with Ingrid Klein and Paolo Asti and the Ravenclaws with Marie' Jantour. Half of the hall's attention was not on her. Ruby sat down on the tiny stool, feeling it creak under her weight and Professor Flitwick placed the hat on her head.

_"Ahh, a rebellious one I see." _A voice purred in Ruby's ear and instantly Ruby knew it was the hat talking and that no one but she could hear it.

_Only a little. _She thought at the hat, hoping it could read minds.

_"Oh but of course I can my dear. Now, where can we put your rebelliousness to the best use? Certainly not Hufflepuff, you've not enough forgiveness for that. Yes, you hold a grudge quite nicely, Slytherin perhaps? Mmmm I think not, you're too brash, running into half formed plans without really calculating what you want to achieve. So not a Ravenclaw either then, I guess it's got to be -"_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

To a storm of clapping and Freddy's catcall of "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" Ruby hopped off the stool, returning the hat to Professor Flitwick, and walked over to the Gryffindor table just glad she knew someone and didn't have to decide who to sit with.

"So does like, everyone in Australia speak English?"

Ruby had hoped to go straight to sleep after the feast however she had gotten no such luck. After trekking up seemingly endless stairs to Gryffindor Tower, she had been interrogated by what seemed like the whole of Gryffindor house in the common room. People asking if she liked quiddich (an affirmative), if she played quiddich, if she might be able to fill the empty spot on the quiddich team (a negative, she didn't intend to play at Hogwarts), if she played gobstones (she didn't), if she had a tattoo (no again), if she could please say crikey just _one _more time. It had only taken ten or fifteen minutes but by the end of it Ruby was exhausted.

Then came the matter of deciding which bed she would take because the room had been rearranged to make room for her bed, this took far longer than it should have and Ruby had dragged her trunk to three beds before it was finally decided.

At the end of it all, Ruby really needed a smoke.

Among the Gryffindor Sixth year girls was Delilah, however the other girls weren't quite as desirable roommates as the ones Ruby had in the past. The most annoying, and the asker of that very stupid question, was Kara Peters. Kara it seemed was as air headed as anything and cared for nothing much more than boys and parties. Delilah had however granted her with excellent dueling skills which had to count for something. The second, slightly less ditzy but equally hyperactive roommate was Sarah Maratt. The third roomate was Maude. Maude Brisinger was a quiet, scholarly kind of girl who kept her two more rambunctious friends in check, she was also a prefect.

"Australia was colonized by England, so yeah it's an English speaking country." Ruby said after a moment of staring at Kara incomprehensibly.

"Enough questions about Australia!" Sarah interrupted. "Let's get to the important stuff! So Ruby, seen any boys you like?" Sarah asked jumping up and down on her bed as she did so.

"No one in particular." Ruby replied, laying down on her bed the one closest to the window. But even as she said that the smell of cigarette smoke and dancing hazel eye came into her mind's eye.

"Well just keep off James he's mine." Kara said turning to her mirror with a swing of her hips. Ruby felt her heart sink. Fuck, did James have a _girlfriend_? Then she hurriedly reminded herself she had known James for five hours and she really shouldn't be as devastated as she was to find that out.

"Yeah but only in your dizziest daydreams." Delilah retorted with a snort. "James has _zero _interest in you Kara."

"That's not true!" Kara protested.

"No it is." Maude interrupted. "He's never liked you and you didn't like him until you noticed boys."

"But I - "

"Oh stop protesting Kara or we won't get a full nights beauty sleep!"

"Oh good point Sarah."

"Let's put on our beauty masks."

Ruby didn't bother to see what their 'beauty masks' looked like. Instead she rolled into bed and fell asleep almost immediately.


	4. The Mad Professor & an Absent Gryffindor

FOUR

THE MAD PROFESSOR AND AN ABSENT GRYFFINDOR

When Ruby awoke the next morning Kara and Sarah were both hurrying about in a very noisy manner, magically shortening their skirts, curling their hair and then beginning the laborious task of applying makeup. Maude too was up, making sure all her uniform fulfilled Hogwarts uniform policy to the letter, she actually had a book open on her bed which detailed uniform requirements. The hair and makeup Ruby was used to, although Cassie had done a much better job applying controlled amounts of blush (Kara looked so rosy cheeked she might be sick with tuberculosis or dragon pox). What Ruby wasn't used to was Maude's attention to uniform. It was honestly a little scary and Ruby had been under the impression Maude was the most 'normal' of her roommates.

Ruby pulled on her heavy uniform and moved to the mirror opposite the one Sarah and Kara crowded, to stand beside Delilah as she did her hair. "Are they always like that?" She asked Delilah as the darker girl finished braiding her black hair.

Delilah turned to look at her, grinning wickedly. Up close the grey of Delilah and Nate's eyes were a luminescent silver that was mildly unnerving, especially when they held the kind of mischief Delilah's did now. "Yeah, they're always this crazy. But they're good fun when we do sleepover stuff sometimes, Maude's just a bit uptight at the start of the year. She'll get over it in a week or two."

Ruby sighed thankfully as she put down her hair brush and moved onto her makeup."What about Sarah? And Kara?" She asked as she dabbed concealer under her eyes.

"Sarah is determined to show her ex-boyfriend Kyle that she doesn't need him and Kara's been like that since third year. Maude and I were sort of expecting her to have calmed down with the boy-crazy by now."

"Looks like you were wrong."

"_Merlin _were we. Don't worry about them though, they don't really expect me to hang around for them, I usually sit with the boys at meals. Nate and I tend to freak out if we don't talk fairly often."

"Freaky twin bond?" Ruby asked as they left the dormitory and headed downstairs.

"That pretty much sums it up."

In the common room all the boys Ruby had met on the train waited for Delilah in what must be an automatic morning routine by now. Alert to the "freaky twin bond" now, Ruby paid close attention to Delilah, who had in fact been looking slightly frantic, and Nate as the two exchanged a few brief words. Within seconds both of them were looking far calmer and once more at ease. Sensing that mornings weren't a time for her to bother Delilah with her need to keep conversation going she went to walk with Louis who grinned at her brightly. "Weird isn't it?"

"What's weird?"

"Nate and Lilah."

"Just a little."

"Wait till you see Lucille and Daniel. Now _that _is weird." Noting her mystified expression he added. "Lucille and Daniel Wood were both Gryffindors, not even born in the same year. Now I've always found the way Lilah and Nate know what one and other are doing weird, but I once saw Lucille talk _with Daniel's voice. _It was the single most bizarre thing I've ever seen in my life. And my family are really good at bizarre, unusual and out of the ordinary."

Ruby grinned. "I noticed that."

Behind them Ruby heard a snort and turned to see James grinning lopsidedly at her. "What?" She demanded of him.

"You're calling us weird Australia? _You? _The one with the crazy accent, strange mannerisms and fire engine red hair?"

"Oh shut up." Ruby said with a mock glare as they entered the Great Hall, Ruby once more being struck by the immense ceiling which reflected a forget-me-not blue sky, the clearest day Ruby had yet encountered in England. Winking at her, James moved to sit beside Nate and a boy Ruby didn't recognize while Ruby ended up wedged between Louis and Freddy. No one seemed much in the mood for conversation and Ruby herself just wanted to drink her orange juice and eat her toast in peace. At one point this peace was interrupted by the screeching of owls and the showering of mail onto the table and at another so that Professor McGonagall could hand her a timetable. It was only then the Louis spoke up.

"Oh excellent you do Ancient Runes, I thought I was going to have no one to talk to."

"Yeah, I really like it. But I'm so afraid you'll have done Egyptian runes and not Greek because I've done Greek but not Egyptian."

"You've finishes Greek?"

"The week before I left Sandfields."

"Wow, we've still got aways to go and haven't even _started _Egyptian."

"Well that's a relief I suppose."

"Not really we'll have to work really hard for the next two years if we -"

"Oi Australia, pass the pumpkin juice." James interrupted.

At that Ruby turned to look at the pitcher of what she had thought was orange juice with suspicion. "_Pumpkin juice?"_

"Don't tell me you've never had pumpkin juice." Freddy scoffed in disbelief.

"That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of."

"Try it!" Louis insisted pouring some into her cup. Just as Ruby was about to protest being force fed vegetable juice the bell went and she got quickly too her feet.

"Oh no, we've got time to get to class. You're going to try some pumpkin juice." Louis said as she made to leave the group.

"I left my books upstairs."

"Ah, well I'd just bring them to breakfast if I were you. It's a long hike to Gryffindor tower when you're in a hurry."

"You don't say." Ruby drawled sarcastically, to which Louis laughed.

"Good luck."

Grumbling Ruby hurried up the grand staircase and in the direction of Gryffindor tower. She got lost several times and was running nearly ten minutes late when she finally figured out which classroom she was supposed to be in. The desks had been pushed against the wall when she entered the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom which was filled with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students methodically getting into pairs. Of the other Gryffindors none seemed to be wanting a partner and Ruby realized she was now in that awkward situation being the only person without a pre-settled partner for classwork. Thankfully as Ruby glanced around the room she realized that she was not the only overseas student in the room and that the leader of the French girls, Marie', was standing against a wall seemingly unsure of what to do. The two made eye contact and then without any other acknowledgment gravitated towards one and other.

"Zhis iz quite nerve wracking iz eet not?" Marie' commented to Ruby in an undertone as the two came to stand side by side.

"Oh hell yes."

"Ow did you like your dormitory?"

"Beautiful, but a bit old fashioned."

"Old fashioned? Well I suppose, but zhere iz not much you can modernize about dormitories in a medieval castle. Why are all ze tables at ze sides of ze room? Zhis iz not at all like Beaubaxtons and eet iz making me quite uncomfortable." Marie' asked, pushing her long black hair out of her face and nervously shifting her weight between each of her feet. Her face gave no sign of nervousness but the fidgeting conveyed that message without needing help from her expression. "We 'ave many subjects together so at least we shall 'ave someone else in ze same boat for those classes." Marie' continued, apparently uncomfortable in silence.

Ruby, not sure what to say to this, simply nodded before asking. "By many subjects, which ones do you mean?"

"We 'ave zhis class together, transfiguration, potions and charms. Zhat is many subjects iz eet not?"

"Yes, I'm glad to have _someone _who doesn't already have a decided partner." Ruby agreed glancing over at the other Gryffindors who had formed pairs without even thinking about it.

"Ohh Louis iz in zhis class!" Marie' exclaimed excitedly.

"You know Louis?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Oh but of course! Ee came to Beaubaxtons in third year, zhe best potions partner I ever 'ad. Ee is very good at potions Louis."

But then Professor Barbarini entered and Ruby was completely distracted from the allure of learning more about Beaubaxtons and France by their teacher's appearance. Professor Barberini was a tall, twig like woman in her late forties with flyaway pink hair the colour of candyfloss. She wore a blue velvet suit with magenta trimmings and a sunflower yellow ribbon working as a headband set off the whole outfit. Ruby looked at Marie' who had her hand clapped around her mouth to prevent any muffled laughter from being heard and bit her lip. This was going to be an interesting class.

"All right students, it's come it's finally come, you knew it was coming and you didn't want it to come but alas that which is coming must come." Professor Barbarini began, gazing around the class in an impressive manner as if her words were supposed to make some kind of sense. Worse, the other students seemed to know what she was referring to and were looking at each other with varying expressions of woe. Ruby began to feel a sense of dread. "So now that this momentous day has come we must take those preparations we made for it's coming - "

"What iz she talking about?" Marie' asked Ruby in an undertone as Professor Barberini continued her confusing speech about absolutely nothing.

"I have no idea." Ruby replied shaking her head, not sure what to expect next.

"Wands out! Expelliarmus! Take turns trying to disarm each other! Non verbal spells!" There was a groan from the rest of the class which revealed that it wasn't just Marie' and Ruby who were lost by Professor Barberini's mad ramblings. "Now, now what will you do if another dark wizard turns up? Yell your spell at him and give him time to block? No! You're going to fight _properly! _Come on, we're big kids now, time to act like it! And please,

do forgive my appearance today, I know I look quite sallow today and I'm not feeling at all under the weather either. I think it's the lack of colour in my outfit, do you think? This blue is a bit dark for me, dark colours have always made me look so brooding. I must wear something brighter tomorrow." It was then Ruby realized that Professor Barberini was completely insane. "Now, you may begin!"

The rest of the class was indeed very interesting, and very giggly - or at least Ruby and Marie' were giggling everyone else was working quite hard. However, neither Ruby nor Marie' was any good at non-verbal spells and it seemed, by the expressions on their faces, that this was new to their classmates as well. And their expressions were _hilarious. _Naturally Professor Barbarini came to see how their progress was going but upon seeing they were _both _exchange students became so much more wrapped up in questions than their actual work that she never got to asking how they were going at the non-verbal spellwork. Crazy as she was Professor Barbarini managed to break the ice between Ruby and Maire', as well as making the two of them more comfortable in the unfamiliar classroom, so that by the end of the lesson Ruby had learnt several things about the dark haired beauty.

Marie' had grown up in Paris with regular trips to both New York and Berlin. She had also spent several winters in Russia but had infrequently been to England which had filled her with a burning curiosity that fueled her transfer to Hogwarts. Her relationship with her parents was bad but she loved her older brother Emile and "the twins" her younger brother and sister Aimee' and Christian. There were big age gaps between her and her siblings, Emile being three years graduated from Beaubaxtons and the twins not having started school yet. The gaggle of French girls Ruby had seen following her about were something like a fanclub who, while not game to uproot their entire life to follow her, hadn't wanted her to spend her first year at Hogwarts alone, she had dated many different boys but never for a long period of time, she was a very dedicated quiddich player and her position was seeker. And although she never said it outright, Ruby got the impression that Marie's family were very, very well off.

By the time the bell rang for Charms the two of them were talking and laughing with the friendliness of two people who had known each other for a much longer period of time than one lesson and Ruby, thinking on all she knew of Marie' now, wondered how much of herself she had revealed. Charms was taught by the tiny Professor Flitwick and, as at Sandfield's, was a rather noisy affair. However, unlike in Defense, Ruby and Marie' were not left to their own devices but joined by several of the Gryffindor boys.

"Ruby, you going to introduce us to your pretty friend?" Freddy asked, sliding in smoothly beside Marie', taking her hand and kissing it extravagantly.

"Marie' Freddy, Freddy Marie." Ruby said waving her hand at each of them in turn.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you." Freddy said. "May I introduce our friend Nate?" Freddy grabbed the arm of Delilah's brooding twin who smiled and nodded at Marie'.

"Charmed I'm sure."

"Certainly. And will you introduce your other friends? Or must I be guessing zheir names?" Marie' asked.

While Freddy was introducing the other boys to Marie' Ruby realized that one of them was missing. Freddy, Louis, Chase, Nate and, no James. Ruby thought back to defense and was almost certain she had seen him in that class.

"Where's James?" Ruby asked after a moment, but instead of being given a normal answer all she received was an exchanged glance between Freddy and Louis and a shrug from Nate.

"Guess he didn't feel like coming to charms."

"Iz class optional?" Marie' asked curiously.

"No."

There was an awkward hush between them for a moment before Marie' nodded slowly. "Right."

"Welcome back sixth years!" At the sound of Professor Flitwick's the six of them fell silent to listen as he outlined the coursework they would be covering for the year. Eventually Flitwick set them to attempting to conjure birds out of thin air. As they did so Freddy and Louis retold a story about their Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron concerning the same charm they were learning. Whilst Marie' was busy laughing at the tale, Ruby was quietly lost in thought. Was it considered normal to skip class here at Hogwarts? Or was it just something James did? It seemed to Ruby that the latter was more likely and, not for the first time since waking up that morning, she found her thoughts wandering to the dark haired boy.

Was he just the 'rebellious bad boy' trying to impress his friends and classmates? Was that glance between Freddy and Louis one of annoyance or something more? It wasn't until Marie' sent a squawking line of fluffy pink birds into the air that Ruby forced her mind from thoughts of James and concentrated on the task at hand, resolving not to think of him for the rest of the day. It was in that class that Ruby first heard the name Wendall Gating, a name she would get very sick of by the time the year ended.

"Ugh, he won't leave me _alone. _" Delilah groaned as she came over on the pretense of asking Nate for help.

Nate smirked in amusement. "You wouldn't be talking about Wendall Gating would you?"

Delilah's only reply was a series of retching noises followed by burying her head in her hands.

"What's this?" Louis asked as he leaned forward curiously.

"Lilah's stalker."

"Lilah has a stalker? Good work Lilah. Have a cookie." Freddy said in a high-pitched baby voice.

"Oh shut up Freddy!"

Freddy only responded by poking his tongue out.

"So who iz his stalker of Delilah's?" Marie' asked when it seemed no one would fully answer Louis' question.

"Wendall Gating." Delilah groaned.

"He's this really weird Hufflepuff seventh year who's obsessed with her." Nate elaborated. "It's a little scary actually."

"Oh I know him!" Chase exclaimed unexpectedly. Unexpected because Chase was a very quiet sort. "He's bloody terrifying."

"Is he the one that followed Sandy around for all of fourth year?" Louis asked looking alarmed.

"The very same."

"Oh no, you've got to do something about that. He is a complete weirdo."

"Tell me about it."

At break Marie' was whisked off by her group of fangirls, jabbering at her in rapid French as they walked towards the Ravenclaw table and the Gryffindors headed towards their table. Here Ruby found herself sandwiched between Freddy and Chase, the boys in unusual silence as they all tried to scarf down a half dozen scones as well as a hot chocolate to warm their insides against the cold. Then the great bell Ruby had yet to see rang once more and Ruby was following Louis, the only of the boys to do Ancient Runes, to their next classroom.

Hogwarts was such a maze of stone corridors, marble staircases, hidden entryways that Ruby could only keep track of all the odd ways they moved about the castle, which was more than enough to keep track off. At one point Louis tickled a section of wall to reveal a door and at another he lifted a tapestry and led Ruby behind it. Finally they reached the Ancient Runes classroom which only had four other students in it. Two boys in Ravenclaw colours, a girl in Hufflepuff colours and another boy in the green of Slytherin. None of them greeted Louis as the two of them entered and sat together at the back. Ruby had only just pulled out her textbook when the door was thrust open and a tall, imposing looking man strode in.

"Good morning class."

"Good morning Professor Nockavitch." The rest of the class chanted back at him dully.

"I suppose by now you've all noted that we have the Australian exchange student in our midst. Ruby Jones." Professor Nockavitch looked around and spied Ruby giving a disapproving glare at her hair. "Was your hair colour intentional irony Miss Jones or did it just look really _cool." _

"I was named for the irony Sir." Ruby said cooly, not liking Professor Nockavitch's tone. She had the feeling that there would be a mutual dislike between them.

"Interesting. Alright, books open, I want you to read chapter one and two and then complete the four page translation activity at the end of each chapter. Anything not completed by the end of the lesson is to be done for homework, I will be collecting them next lesson. This week we shall revise the Ancient Greek runes you _should _already know and next week shall start new content. If this pace seems speedy to you it is only because Egyptian hieroglyphics is a lengthy and difficult unit which you will need for your NEWTs next year. These, similar to your OWLs are not set by me and therefore you _must _know everything as I cannot write the exam based soley on the material we have covered. You may begin."

As it turned out Ancient Runes was the only class in which Ruby was ahead, she had already finished studying Ancient Greek and was supposed to have begun hieroglyphics however moving to Hogwarts had prevented her attending those classes. On top of already being ahead, Ruby had only been away from school for three weeks and hadn't had time to forget everything like the rest of the class. So for her this revision was immensely boring. About half way through the lesson Ruby had finished the set translation and began to hum softly to herself while she drew flowers on a corner of her parchment.

"Miss Jones I would appreciate it if you could refrain from humming."

Ruby moved her gaze from the paper to Professor Nockavitch, held his gaze for a moment and resumed humming.

"Miss Jones."

"Yes Professor."

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from humming."

"I'm sure you would."

She continued humming.

"Miss Jones stop humming this instant!"

"Alright Professor, no need to get antsy." Ruby commented with a nonchalant grin, at which Louis snorted in amusement.

"Miss Jones I hope this behavior is not going to be a recurring problem this year."

"Sorry, I'm bored."

"Well perhaps if you did the set work you would not be so bored!"

"I've finished the work."

"There is another translation directly after the first that I intended to set for homework. It is eight pages, if you complete that you will have no homework. Of course if you continue in such an inappropriate manner, I can find an essay for you to write in place of the translation."

Exchanging a look with Louis, Ruby set to finishing the next translation but only got three pages in before the lesson ended.

"The eight pages directly after those you translated this lesson, and anything you didn't complete of the first four, are homework to be handed in by tomorrow's lesson." Professor Nockavitch said, getting to his feet as the bell rang. As Professor Nockavitch swept out of the room dramatically Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Is he always such a theatrical dickhead?" She demanded to laughter from her other classmates.

"I'd say about a hundred percent of the time." Louis answered as he gathered up his books.

"Excellent, we wouldn't want inconsistency from our teachers would we?"

"Not at all."

After Ancient Runes was Herbology which required Ruby to go outside and gave her her first sight of the Hogwart's grounds. From the little she saw, Ruby got the impression that it was all very green. As Ruby walked in she saw Freddy, Maude and Kara from Gryffindor. Across the greenhouse she could see the blonde Ravenclaw Delilah was friends with, another Ravenclaw boy who wore glasses, Ingrid the German exchange student, two other Slytherins - both boys, - and four Hufflepuffs. It was a relatively big class but not big enough that it would make sense for the houses to be divided.

It wasn't until Professor Longbottom took the role that Ruby realized James too was supposed to be in this class and judging by the frown on Professor Longbottom's face it was unusual for him to skip it. However, Ruby didn't have time to worry about James as Neville launched into a detailed explanation of how to properly trim a venomous tentacula and, considering they would be attempting it next lesson, she thought it appropriate to take notes.

Herbology was followed by lunch halfway through which James reappeared, although he did not explain his disappearance. The reason for his reappearance was quite evident to Ruby as she walked into the commanding presence of Professor McGonagall, the first headmistress or headmaster to continue teaching a regular class after being promoted.

"Please be seated." She requested and, prompted by their earlier agreement to stick together, Ruby moved to sit by Marie'.

"This is your first NEWT year and no doubt you are expecting the pressure to be off now that OWLs are over. This perception is wrong. This year we will begin human transfiguration, we will perfect non-verbal transfiguration, we will be transfiguring furniture and studying key transfiguration theorems that will most certainly be on your end of year exam. Today we will begin going into more detail concerning Gamp's transfiguration principals. In particular I would like to explore the limitations surrounding food - "

Transfiguration was followed by a study for Ruby which she spent in the Gryffindor common room finishing her translation for ancient runes, beginning the essay Professor McGonagall had set them, completing her Herbology notes and practicing non-verbal incantations to no avail.

The next few days passed like this and Ruby began to get settled into the routine of Hogwarts, feeling less shocked every morning when she woke up to a ceiling which lacked paintings she and Jeannie had put up in their second year. At meals Ruby sat between Freddy and Chase, the two making her laugh herself silly without even trying, in classes she sat beside Marie' and the two would discuss all the strange things they had discovered about Hogwarts and anything else that came into their heads. Ancient Runes with Louis inevitably ended in Professor Nockavitch yelling at the pair of them. Of an evening she and Delilah would study together in the common room before Delilah left to join her friends from Ravenclaw and Ruby would write to Jeannie and Annie keeping them updated on the weird wonders of Hogwarts. Every spare moment Ruby spent with Marie', the French girl putting her in the mind of some strange crossover between two of her friends from Australia Annie and Cassie. The only time Ruby was not with Marie' was when she was smoking as Marie' would not allow her to light up anywhere in her presence saying that 'just because I am from Paris' does not mean I need to smell Paris when I leave. Stop eet, eet iz disgusting." In only three days Ruby felt like she had known her forever and already the castle was feeling more like home than Ruby would have ever imagined.

There was only one thing that was not going as Ruby would have liked, now that term had started James Potter seemed to have no more interest in her than any other girl at the school, their cigarette smoke moment on the train seemingly forgotten. Ruby tried not to spend all that much time worrying about it, reminding herself she was too busy getting to know Hogwarts and showing interest in those that showed it in her. However every now and then their eyes would lock and Ruby would get the feeling that James had _not _forgotten his interest in her and was merely biding his time. It was all the more frustrating because her first impressions of him had not worn away in the least. In fact Ruby found herself, if anything, becoming more infatuated with him. On the Wednesday after term had started Ruby asked Nate, who she by now knew to be James' best friend, if James disliked her and Nate had looked surprised before saying James thought very highly of her. Louis however had interrupted.

"But Nate you forget what James is like now, he's so distant and brooding it's as if he doesn't like _anyone_."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. The skipping classes, the odd silences, the _smoking." _

"Oh, that. Lily thinks its just a phase."

"And you're going to trust a third year's opinion on this?"

"This isn't just any third year we're talking about Louis. This is Lily."

And that was the end of that conversation, however it wasn't the end of Ruby's thinking about it. Quietly that night, when Ruby tended to think about James in lieu of her homesickness, her guilt over her father and the general black hole that was thoughts about her mother, Ruby wondered what it was that made James act so oddly. Louis made it clear that it wasn't normal for James to be so reclusive and the mystery was enough to occupy Ruby's thoughts before she fell asleep.


	5. Louis

_**Author's Note: Many thanks to all of you who have reviewed. This fanfic will be updated one week while my marauder fic "Differently" will be updated the next. There may be weeks where for example on a week that I am to publish a chapter from "Differently" I also publish one to this fic, however, the following week there would still be an update to this fic as the schedule dictates. I will admit that particularly dedicated fanbases do entice quicker updates so, depending on that, one fic may be updated weekly to the other's biweekly. But for now, a chapter every fortnight. **_

Waking up to an empty dorm, is not the most heartwarming of prospects. Yet it was a reality for Ruby when she awoke late on her first Saturday at Hogwarts. Kara and Sarah's dressing table (there were two in the dormitory) was littered with makeup brushes and various cosmetic items where they would usually be away in a drawer, indicting the two had left on some kind of flirting mission. Maude's bed was perfectly made, a few discarded textbooks lying on top of it. Maude was clearly in the library. As for Delilah - well Ruby didn't really know. Ruby liked Delilah a lot but the two of them didn't exactly have a great deal in common. Delilah was somewhat more studious than Ruby would have expected and very interested in experimental potions. The only common ground the two really had was a similar sense of humor and a love of quiddich. It was enough to keep things friendly but Ruby didn't ever see the two of them getting _really _close.

Right now Ruby needed that closeness. Sitting up Ruby sighed. She was being stupid. Marie' and her had really hit it off, she had a close friend. Unfortunately for the dour mood she was in Marie' had dedicated her Saturdays for the rest of this school year to be spent with the other French students and Ruby was a far stretch from French. She got out of bed, deciding to get dressed and finish her essay on venomous tentacula. Noticing the weather was probably the nicest it had been since she had come to England, Ruby put on a skirt and tights paired paired with her Beatle's t-shirt and threw her trenchcoat over the top. She would study outside today. Collecting her books, Ruby left the dormitory and headed downstairs.

She got lost of course. Once, twice, three times. But eventually she found her way. Unfortunately Ruby had barely set foot out of doors during her days at Hogwarts and wasn't familiar with the world outside the front doors. Wandering pas the greenhouses, Ruby walked towards the lake she had come across when she first arrived. Groups of students were gathered around it's edge laughing and talking. As Ruby sat down she felt very lonely. She was the only one at this school who didn't have someone to spend her Saturday afternoon with. The boys who had been her companions thus far were no doubt at Quiddich practice or pranking, or some other fun activity and she was studying alone. With a sigh she picked up her Herbology text book, thumbing through to the page on venomous tentacula. She should probably get cracking on her essay.

"Oh my god I can't believe he said that! What an git!"

"He's totally not worth your time! Don't even think about him!" Ruby frowned, trying to ignore the group of fourth years.

"Seriously, he sucks."

A girl sniffed. "Thanks guys, you're the best."

Letting out a loud, irritable sigh. Ruby rolled onto her back, bringing her textbook with her. Apparently studying outside hadn't been such a good idea. Perhaps she would have better luck with the library, and she would certainly feel less alone if she sat by Maude. Getting to her feet, Ruby glared once at the unoffending girls who were still reassuring their recently single friend of her ex-boyfriend's worthlessness and stalked off towards the library.

Easier said than done.

Within the space of fifteen minutes Ruby found herself not only in a corner of the castle she had never seen before, but in a corner so completely isolated there was no one around to ask for directions. Even the ugly squashed faced cat that belonged to the caretaker would have been a welcome sight. Homesick, lonely and lost, Ruby sat down on the edge of a window and pulled out her Herbology textbook again. At least here there was no one having noisy fun, no one having deep and meaningful conversations with their best friend (conversations Ruby could no longer have) and she could focus on her homework.

_"The seeds of the Venomous Tentacula are a Class C non-tradeable substance in all corners of the wizarding world…" _

Briefly Ruby wondered how it would feel to die from the bite of a Venomous Tentacula, she wondered if it would be an effective way to murder someone. Realising that her thoughts were headed down a very unhealthy pathway Ruby threw the book across the corridor.

"Fucking fucked up fuck."

"Difficult?" A familiar voice said.

Ruby sighed yet again. Even five minutes ago company would have been welcome. But now that she had it she just wanted to be alone. "I'm just not in the mood." She said, looking up at Louis.

Moving to where the book had fallen, he picked it up. "Herbology theory? Ouch. No wonder you're not in the mood. No one is ever in the mood for that."

Ruby managed a faint smile. "I don't know Professor Longbottom seems to like it."

"Only Nev could get excited about plants." Louis said with a laugh.

"Did you just call Professor Longbottom '_Nev'?_" Ruby asked in astonishment.

"Sure did, he's a friend of the family." Louis sat down beside her with a grin. "Went to school with Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione."

"I didn't know that."

"Well you don't really know us all that well yet."

"No." Ruby agreed, looking down as she did so.

"Problem?" Louis asked.

"It's nothing."

Louis let out an irritable sigh. "Please Ruby tell me you are not one of those girls that says "its nothing" everytime she has a goddamn problem because that is really fucking annoying."

"Well by nothing I mean, it's nothing important."

"If it's important enough to be troubling you it's important enough to talk about."

"Just homesickness."

"Well I mean it was bound to happen, didn't you think about homesickness and that sort of thing when you decided to move?" Louis asked.

"I didn't really think at all about what it was going to be like when I got here. I just wanted to get away."

"Huh." Louis was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Get away from what? I rather got the impression you liked it at Sandfields."

"Shit at home."

"Shit at home is kind of vague." Ruby looked up from her hands and directly into Louis' face. His expression was one of concern, his blue eyes filled with sincerity. He seemed kind and well meaning. But, so had her mother, once. The betrayal of not one but two parents tends to leave scars, and for Ruby those scars were deep seated trust issues. "I'm not sure I want to talk about it."

Louis bit his lip, briefly lost in thought. "Perhaps you need to talk about it though."

"Come again?"

"Well, I don't know about the others, but it was clear to me at least that you didn't come to Hogwarts because you wanted to experience England. In fact, you didn't seem particularly interested in England to be honest. Which led me to believe you wanted to leave Australia, but the way you talk about it, you loved Australia. Not to mention the fact you really don't get along with your father and you hate his girlfriend. So why the move?"

"As I said, shit at home." Ruby answered, irritated by Louis' pushiness. "What's your point?"

"Well you're not exactly the most trusting of people Ruby and you're somewhat secretive about your friends and life in Australia where most exchange students tell everything we could want to know. That speaks of some serious shit at home, something that you haven't really spoken about and probably need to."

The invitation to talk was clearly there, and Louis did seem genuinely concerned, but all Ruby's alarms were going off and she wasn't about to ignore them. She crossed her arms across her chest. "I have a best friend back home who knows everything there is to know about me. I think I'm covered."

"A best friend who's halfway across the globe isn't really much use to someone who needs to talk."

"Ruby - "

"Why are you being so goddamned pushy Louis? I've known you for five days, just like you said! I don't need to tell you my life story." Ruby got to her feet and tried to snatch the textbook out of his hands.

"Listen to me Ruby." Louis grabbed onto both of her arms and dragged her back down to where they had been sitting. "I like you, we get along really well and in case you hadn't noticed I already have one friend who won't tell anyone whats wrong and look where that got him."

Ruby let go of the textbook. "This isn't about me, is it?"

Now it was Louis' turn to look down. "You've seen him, skips every class he think he can get away with, never talks to anyone except occasionally Nate, took up smoking over the summer, constantly brooding in our dormitory. He was never like this last year."

"What was he like?"

"Energetic, excited, constantly in your face, took school pretty seriously too or at least he never missed a class. He was the type who always liked to be around people, and he didn't smoke."

"Smoking doesn't mean something is wrong you know."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just, out of character and even if the smoking has nothing to do with it. Something is wrong and he won't let anyone know what it is." Louis looked back up at her. "I know you're not ready to talk now, but when you are, I'm here. Don't be James."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Louis nodded slowly. "I just wish I knew what was up."

"You guys are close?"

"We were, he and Nate were closer but James was always the closest I had to a best friend."

"Well seemingly I'm not the only one in need of a best friend." Ruby mused.

"Is that an offer?" Louis asked with a smile.

"Come again?"

"Is that an offer to be my new best friend?"

Ruby blinked, surprised. She couldn't see any reason to say no. "If you want it to be." After all, Louis was (after Marie') the person at Hogwarts she was closest to.

"Done."

She held out her hand. "Friends then."

"Best friends." Louis amended.

"Best friends." She agreed.

And looking back on that day, Ruby would always see it as the day she was finally happy to be at Hogwarts. Missing Jeannie though she was, having Louis and Marie' somehow made up for it. After that day the weight of homesickness in her stomach no longer bothered her and tears no longer came unbidden late at night. In Hogwarts, Ruby would finally find a home.


End file.
